Locally, this dynamic has played out in a few races, notably for district attorney.

Early this year, state District Judge Sid Harle made a quiet splash at the courthouse by speculating that he might challenge Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed in the Republican primary.

Then, last month, the respected jurist quietly let it be known that he wouldn't.

Family issues, he said.

The same scenario has played out for state District Judge Phil Kazen, a Democrat.

Soon after Harle bowed out, Kazen said he wouldn't seek re-election, choosing to focus on deciding whether he wanted to take on Reed. Two other Democrats, local defense attorneys Therese Huntzinger and Nico LaHood, already have vowed to seek the office in the general election.

On Monday, Kazen sent the following text message to Huntzinger and LaHood.

“Thought you should both know that, because of family issues, I will not be running for DA.”

State Sen. Carlos Uresti followed suit on Tuesday. After months of pondering a run for attorney general, the Democrat sent a press release signaling an end to the cogitation.

“With so much remaining to be done to improve the lives of my constituents, and to fulfill the personal commitments I have made to my family, the best choice for me at this time is to remain an active and engaged state senator,” he stated.

In each case, it's likely other factors also caused the contender to back out.

But today, as we sit around tables stacked with turkey, let's keep in mind something about families: They not only serve as convenient excuses not to do something rigorous, they're also legitimate ones.

“Campaigns are tough on families,” said Kelton Morgan, a local strategist now working for Reed.

“It is a big financial strain,” he said, “because if you're doing it right anyway, you're not working as much as you probably ought to be in terms of earning a living because you're spending all of your time on the campaign trail.

“And then there's just a lot of separation every night,” he continued. “There's a neighborhood meeting or a bar association dinner or some local Democrat or Republican Party-called meeting that you have to go to. It's not uncommon to not be home to put your children to bed five or six nights a week in the heat of a campaign.”

Of course, families also could prove essential to saying, “Let's do this.”

An exemplar this year is state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, who announced last week she's running for lieutenant governor.

Her decision followed a period of painful soul-searching.

Van de Putte and her relatives are grappling this year with the deaths of her grandson, father and mother-in-law. Amid insistent calls for the state senator to replace Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, she spoke at length with loved ones about whether they could endure the intensity of a statewide campaign.

“I would not put my family through this if I did not totally believe that this was winnable,” Van de Putte said when she announced her candidacy.

And races are intense for families.

“Campaigns are divisive by nature, and so people are going to be saying things about you that are not nice,” Morgan said.

“It's tough on kids,” he continued. “It's tough on spouses who really aren't technically part of the campaign, but really they bear the brunt of a whole lot of it. They're the ones who are separated most from the family member who's the candidate. They're the ones who hear all the bad stuff. They're the ones who get teased on the playground.”

There's no shame, then, in citing family in saying, “Never mind.”

There's also little risk.

“That's certainly going to be a reason (for not running),” Morgan said. A beat later, he added, “Or it's certainly going to be one that no one can question.”